Spirits professionals, including Our Whisky co-founder Becky Paskin, have condemned the ‘sexist’ language used to describe whiskies in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.

The latest edition of Murray’s Whisky Bible was published last week and recognised whiskies from around the world. However, Murray has drawn criticism for descriptions of some whiskies, which often compare different spirits to women.

In a post on social media platforms including Instagram and Twitter, Our Whisky co-founder Becky Paskin cited some examples of Murray’s comments, saying that “something needs to be said”. She highlighted that “there are 34 references to whisky being ‘sexy’ and many more crudely comparing drinking whisky to having sex with women”.

In the book, Murray refers to a whisky from Welsh distillery Penderyn as celebrating “maltiness in the same way a sex addict revels in a threesome”. He also made these comments about a release from Canadian Club: “Have I had this much fun with a sexy 41-year-old Canadian before? Well, yes I have. But it was a few years back now and it wasn’t a whisky. Was the fun we had better? Probably not.”

In response to Murray’s “sexist and vulgar” language, Paskin and Forbes writer Felipe Schrieberg both called on brands to stop “ignoring this problem”.

Paskin said: “I have been aware of some of the ways he has described whiskies in the past and cringed but then got on with my day.

“But I managed to get hold of a copy of the 2021 edition and went through it to pick out some of the most disgusting reviews that were in there and it was really shocking. I had anticipated a couple, but there were more than I could have imagined.